Being All-In With God

He said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and will all your mind.’ (Mt. 22:37)

I was meeting with a couple (I’ll call them John and Mary) before their wedding the next day. While reviewing their vows, John said, “I’m having a hard time with saying ‘I will.’”

I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “I’ve already said that ‘I will’ always love, honor, and be faithful to two other women and neither time worked. May I say ‘I’ll try’ this time?”

I can’t describe how ugly things got between them at that moment. We spent another hour together, and I ended our time saying I had some reservations about doing their wedding the next day. We met the next morning and they assured me that we could go forward with the ceremony that evening.

Six months later John and Mary were in my office. Things had blown up. John did indeed have a hard time living into the “I will” commitments of marriage. I implored them to see a counselor before moving forward with divorcing. Soon after I moved from that community and I’d always wondered what happened to them.

About seven years later, a couple walked into my gym—it was John and Mary. When we sat down together, I asked them how they had moved from the brink of divorce to their obvious current happiness.

John said, “A counselor helped me to see that some old family hurts had caused me to be afraid of committing to any relationship. Consequently, I just dabbled. The counselor also helped me to see that I wouldn’t have a life, or love, or a marriage until I got all-in with Mary and all-in on my work to heal.”

In today’s scripture Jesus commands us to get “all-in” with God. That’s what it means to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind.

I encourage us to ask ourselves where we are with God. Are we all-in, or are we just dabbling?

As we’re pondering, I encourage us to remember where God is with us. He’s totally all-in. That’s why He sent Jesus. The best way to honor our all-in God is to be all-in with God.

Reflection Questions:

Where are you with God? All-in, or just dabbling? If the latter, what would help you to deepen your faith and commitment?

If you aren’t all-in with those you love, like John wasn’t with Mary, is there some healing that you need? If so, when are you going to seek help?

Are you all-in with your life, or are you just going through the motions? Again, if the latter, what do you need to do to honor and not waste the great gift that God has given to you?